It was past noon when Zhou Ge, who had taken a nap after waking up in the early morning, lazily tidied himself and his room. He grabbed some ready-to-eat snacks and went out to pick some wild jujubes.

　　In the afternoon, he carefully planned his next move. There weren't many usable items in the courtyard, and the only thing he could use for his summoning ritual was the chicken that hadn't been taken away. Whoever he could summon would be entirely up to luck.

　　The so-called Servitude Drive involved commanding the spirits of the dead.

　　The first type of spirit was that of an immortal. Zhou Ge and his mother, Tang Ji, had never seen an immortal, so they naturally didn't have any immortal spirits to command.

　　The second type was the spirit of an ordinary person. These spirits were common and they had a few recorded. Tang Ji had given her son two such spirits, both of which had been passed down for generations. One was the spirit of a strong warrior from their clan who could fight ten opponents at once, and the other was the spirit of a female warrior skilled in swordplay and the art of drawing three types of magical symbols. She could dispel the "dispel weapons talismans" symbol by covering it with her own, but whether to do so was still under consideration.

　　The third type was the spirit of a demon. Like the spirit of an immortal, Zhou Ge didn't have any, and the few that existed were all in his mother's possession.

　　The fourth type was the spirit of a ghost. So far, he only had a troublesome ghost that liked to cause trouble, and releasing it wouldn't be of much use.

　　The fifth type was the spirit of an animal. Zhou Ge had the most of these, including common domestic animals like pigs, cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, and geese, as well as livestock like cows, horses, and sheep, and various birds like sparrows, phoenixes, swallows, and ravens. These were all common sights in Binri City.

　　The chicken that hadn't been taken away was intended for this purpose.

　　Worried that the second young lady might suddenly appear, Zhou Ge placed a bronze mirror beside him. Sitting cross-legged, he chanted the incantation: "Animal spirit, obey the law."

　　After the command, the spirit of the chicken emerged, hopping and jumping several times before possessing the body of the chicken.

　　The chicken's body stiffened, and then it hopped and jumped towards the North Forest.

　　In the North Forest, the thieves were busy building temporary shelters. Some were busy scouting the area, some complained about not having looted anything yet and were already exhausted, some were crafty and gambled with rocks, scissors, paper away from the others, and some were misbehaving and trying to find ways to extort money from the residents of the jujube orchard. They all had one common trait: a small cloth bag hanging from their waists, containing the "dispel weapons talismans" symbol given to them by Huang Yan. With this treasure, they felt even more emboldened.

　　By the edge of the forest, a few people were gathering firewood and sitting in a circle roasting something.

　　One sharp-eyed individual spotted the hopping chicken, and after a moment of surprise, burst out laughing. "Guys, look at the fat one! Fatty, fatty!"

　　The others followed his gaze, and soon they were all laughing.

　　"Stupid chicken!" One of them inquisitord. "Bros, watch this." He rolled up his sleeves and slowly approached, waiting for the right moment to make his move.

　　The chicken leaped up and dodged, kicking him in the face with both feet and continuing to hop forward.

　　Another thief picked up his bow and arrow, took aim, and shot, but it was also dodged.

　　"Get him, get him..."

　　All the thieves sitting around the fire stood up to chase after the chicken, causing a commotion.

　　Just then, a man arrived at the scene.

　　"What's going on here?"

　　One of the thieves approached him. "It's Huang. We're trying to catch a chicken."

　　Huang Yan furrowed his brows, thinking to himself that these idiots were making too much noise over catching a chicken. He turned to look at the chicken and almost burst out laughing.

　　"How can you be so clumsy? It's taking so much effort to catch a stupid chicken? You're all useless!"

　　Meanwhile, Zhou Ge, who was watching from afar, was somewhat dissatisfied. He thought about who he wanted to come and who he didn't, but it seemed like fate had other plans.

　　Reflecting on his time in the county, he realized that the second young lady's attitude towards him had changed significantly. At first, he thought she was willful and headstrong, but as he got to know her better, he found her to be quite pleasant. At least she didn't put on any airs of being a wealthy young lady, and she had been very hospitable, providing food and accommodation. Shen Huan had also been a great help. If he hadn't met Shen Huan, he would have wasted a lot of time trying to find out about Beici County.

　　After much deliberation, he decided to lend a helping hand and worry about Dang Liaoze's matters later.

　　By the edge of the forest, the ridiculed thief didn't dare to retort. One of them, bolder than the others, said, "Huang, why don't you try it yourself?"

　　The other thieves egged him on, "Huang, give it a try, Huang Ye, give it a try..."

　　Huang Yan frowned. "You want me to try? If I catch it, there's no share for you!" The others were immediately deflated.

　　He looked around for a while, picked up a few suitable stones, and stood not far away, staring at the hopping chicken. He waited for it to jump and then threw the stones, hitting it perfectly.

　　He quickly walked forward and grabbed the chicken by its neck. "Boys, this delicacy is mine! Hahahaha..." Laughing, he confidently walked out of the forest, and no one dared to pursue him.

　　The chicken, held firmly in his hand, struggled and flapped its wings.

　　Zhou Ge waited for the right moment and chanted the incantation: "Summon the spirit, draw the soul."

　　The animal spirit leaped forward and collided with Huang Yan's face, ripping out a third of his soul.

　　Huang Yan was greatly frightened and almost knelt on the ground, shaking his head and looking around in confusion. "Where... Where is the master?"

　　The animal spirit made its way south, first into the sparse forest and then into the courtyard.

　　Zhou Ge heard the sound of the wooden door opening and quickly covered his face with a piece of cloth.

　　Huang Yan stared wide-eyed as a small figure with a bronze mirror and a cloth covering his face stood before him.

　　Seeing that it was indeed a sorcerer, he collapsed on the ground, trembling. "Please spare me, Great Sorcerer, please spare me..."

　　Zhou Ge circled around him several times before closing the wooden door and confronting him.

　　"Are you Huang Yan?"

　　"Yes, yes... Please spare me, Great Sorcerer."

　　"I never intended to harm you."

　　Huang Yan was overjoyed to hear this and immediately understood the implication. He pleaded, "Great Sorcerer, could you please put my soul back first? I'm scared; as for what you want to ask or have me say, we can do that later." He pointed to the third of his soul that had been ripped out and looked terrified.

　　"Oh? Why do you say that?"

　　"You're not from the County prefect's mansion, are you? You just happened to pass by... I mean, you just happened to pass by..."

　　"You're quite an interesting person." Zhou Ge approached him and pushed his soul back in. "Alright, I'll ask you first. Where are you from? Who gave you the dispel weapons talismans? And what kind of sorcery do you know?"

　　"I'm from Grassbag Mountain, which is actually a small, unnamed mountain. There were only two households there, and they named it Grassbag Mountain. Later, I learned how to draw dispel weapons talismans and gathered a few people to occupy the mountain, renaming it Zhibing Mountain."

　　"So, tell me what happened."

　　"I was just a poor farmer from Grassbag Mountain, earning a living by chopping wood and hunting. About two years ago, a woman in black came and taught me how to draw dispel weapons talismans. She said that once I learned it, I would surely become successful. Later, I met Brother Qing, and the rest, you already know..."

　　"A woman in black? What did she look like?"

　　"I've never seen her face. She spoke with a voice that sounded like a woman, and she was left-handed, I'm sure of it."

　　Zhou Ge thought about it for a long time, and couldn't think of who this woman was, but he directly told him that most of it was related to the disciples and grandchildren of the West Peak Holy Monarch, and maybe it had anything to do with Bai Liang, and he couldn't tell the specifics.

　　"Really?"

　　"The power is here, how dare you talk nonsense?It's true, I'll vouch for it with a head. ”

　　"Okay, I won't impeach your soul for the time being."

　　Huang Yan shrunk his neck and shivered, asking where he was, asking who he had met, and why he was greedy.But by now, it was too late.

　　"What else would you like to know?"

　　"Hmm...Not yet; want you to do something, though. ”

　　"I understand, I understand...I'll get out of the way right away. ”

　　"Can it be done?"

　　"Can you ...Definitely. As far as I know, there's nothing that can't be done. However, he ... No pen and paper..."

　　Zhou Ge recalled that when he helped the old couple clean up their belongings, he did see a set of pen, ink, paper and inkstones that he had not taken away.

　　"Wait, I'll look for it......" After a while, he took out something and brought it to him, and asked, "What do you want to do?" ”

　　"Let's just say that the big war is about to draw a new one, just in case, what do you think?"

　　"That's a good reason, so let's do it. Also, don't forget to eat chicken, there is no meat in your mouth, and no one can believe it when you go back. ”

　　Huang Yan looked at the chicken, sat down and took a few steps back.

　　"He's ......"

　　"Kill, I'll have a good meal too."

　　"You ....too" He turned his mind and thought about it, and fainted to the ground. No matter how the other party screams or shouts, he doesn't move.

　　Zhou Ge squinted: "Playing tricks?" Forget it, just remember to do something. ”